The next Men's Football World Cup is fast approaching. From June 11 to July 19, 2026, 48 nations will try to succeed Argentina in the tournament, organized in Canada, Mexico and the United States. Among them, 16 teams from the Europe zone, whose qualifying groups were revealed on Friday, December 13, during a draw in Zurich (Switzerland) at the headquarters of the International Football Federation (FIFA).
Still in the running in the Nations League, France will have to wait until the end of March and the outcome of its quarter-final against Croatia to know with certainty the names of its opponents. But the road does not look particularly tough for coach Didier Deschamps and his men: finalists of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and semi-finalists of Euro 2024 in Germany, the Blues were seeded.
If they win against the Croatians, the Tricolores will fall into group D. They would then face Ukraine, Iceland and Azerbaijan in qualifying, between September and November 2025. If they lose in the Nations League, they will join Group L and begin their campaign in June 2025 against the Czech Republic, Montenegro, the Faroe Islands and Gibraltar.
“We have seven potential opponents, with different profiles. We know a little more, but we don't know everything yet. It's complicated for many people to understand the draw. There is less visibility compared to what there was before, but the key word is to adapt”reacted Didier Deschamps after the draw.
The 54 European teams – Russia is still excluded due to the war in Ukraine – have been divided into 12 groups of four or five teams and will play the traditional home and away matches in the championship format. The twelve selections which finish first in their group will qualify directly for the World Cup. The twelve who finish second will compete in a play-off to try to win one of the four remaining tickets; these meetings will be played during the international break in March 2026. Enough to preserve the suspense:
The complete draw
Four-team groups :
Group A : the winner of the Italy-Germany Nations League quarter-final; Slovakia; Northern Ireland; Luxembourg.
Group B : Switzerland; Sweden; Slovenia; Kosovo.
Group C : the loser of the Portugal-Denmark Nations League quarter-final; Greece; Scotland; Belarus.
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Group D : the winner of the Nations League quarter-final France-Croatia; Ukraine; Iceland; Azerbaijan.
Group E : the winner of the quarter-final of the Nations League Spain – Netherlands; Turkey; Georgia; Bulgaria.
Group F : the winner of the Portugal-Denmark Nations League quarter-final; Hungary; the Republic of Ireland; the Faroe Islands.
Five-team groups :
Group G : the loser of the quarter-final of the Nations League Spain – Netherlands; Poland; Finland; Lithuania; Malta.
Group H : Austria; Romania; Bosnia Herzegovina; Cyprus; San Marino.
Groupe I : the loser of the Germany-Italy Nations League quarter-final; Norway; Israel; Estonia; Moldova.
Group J : Belgium; Wales; Macedonia; Kazakhstan; Lieschtenstein.
Group K : England; Serbia; Albania; Latvia; Andorra.
Group L : the loser of the Nations League quarter-final France-Croatia; the Czech Republic; Montenegro; the Faroe Islands; Gibraltar.
